Interview with Raj Jawa

 

Raj Jawa, thanks for accepting this interview. My reader or readers depending on the day will not know you. Can you tell us about yourself? Actor, editor, producer, writer, etc.

Thank you very much for having me on to be interviewed here. I am an all-rounder in film and video production but I tend to focus and be energized by the aspects that I do as an actor and performer. I’ve been a principal or supporting actor in quite a few productions over the years, these days I’m largely

entertaining through my video game livestreams of games by independent developers. Recently I was fortunate enough to have a small speaking role in the upcoming Free Guy from 20th Century.

I’ve produced seven short films as well as a feature film and a handful of comedy sketches. I’ve directed, I’ve written, I’ve edited, I’ve made music, I’ve been my entire crew, and I’ve helped out colleagues in various production positions throughout my career. I feel well-versed in coordinating all parts of a film shoot from start to finish but obviously there are some tasks which are my clear strengths over other set jobs.

Raj, everyone has a story to tell about themselves that they wished everyone would know. What is that story for you?

I didn’t have a strong story for myself or a meaning that I wanted to put on my platform until I could fully process the foreclosure of my family’s home in 2018. I knew I was angry about it and everything leading up to it but I didn’t realize how traumatized I was about it until I could recognize how much that material loss changed my mindset from that moment.

 

I had been fortunate enough to grow up with a father who immigrated here and built up a small business from his earnings. I’d been spared the need to work outside the family to maintain my life. I’m thankful for that freedom that allowed me to find my desire to do film production. But when it all felt like it was being categorically ripped away, it sunk into my consciousness like a localized Great Depression. My entire mental focus and worry shifted to the constant accumulation of money to ensure I could have enough to own my needs and not have to concern myself with doing any work just to collect money.

For a few years, that odious money job was driving for Uber. I don’t want to hate on it, it can be a good opportunity in specific circumstances but it just wasn’t for me. I associate who I am very closely with what I do, that’s something I’m working on decoupling in my mind but being out there serving a rude or uninteresting public for twelve hours a day was something I hated. I stopped driving during the pandemic but I started Uber Eats deliveries when my CARES Unemployment got suspended due to having an acting paycheck push me just over the income limit to disqualify for it.

With all this, I’ve found myself in somewhat of a nihilistic mindset these days as I question the norms of just about every stratum. I seek a deeper meaning out of life and humanity but it seems to me that such philosophical thought and endeavor is saved for the ones with enough  disposable income to get off the commoner hamster wheel and try to answer those questions. The everyday person is precluded from discovering deeper meaning out of life because their station doesn’t allow for such lofty use of productive time.


Raj, you’ve been somewhat prolific in producing short films yet you’ve seemed to have pivoted to more content creation, video game livestreams, and more contained productions overall. Can you talk about that?

My strongest desire is to simply be on camera, practicing the art of entertaining as much as possible without also worrying about a small production and if everything looks cinematic. I’ve always followed the adage of making your own opportunities rather than waiting for a gig but that carries a tremendous burden that greatly outsizes the work of simply showing up prepared as a performer.

Admittedly I’m also jaded by the process which requires a tremendous amount of non-film production work like marketing and networking to move up the chain with any kind of creative project. I feel I’ve done a tremendous amount of work over the years and yet my wheels spin in place. I’ve learned the hard way that if there’s no strategy, there’s no gain. But I’m no strategist, no businessman, I’m a creative and a grunt! I just want to show up and do the work, I’m dedicated to the work because I love it and I want my time and effort I’ve put to this field to actually sustain me without the constant existential crisis of an uncertain payday.

The less obfuscated answer is that since I’m not making money back on my creative endeavours anyway, why do anything I don’t totally love and feel engaged with? I have short film ideas and a lot of sketch ideas but my focus isn’t with them right now. I have to ask myself if the effort required of those productions is worth the likely result? The answer I come to right now is, no.

My current creative mission is to build a community because that’s what I lack. I don’t lack the drive to create work, I try to create constantly. What I do lack is the ability to continue to put my heart and soul into something labor intensive and exhausting just to receive nominal appreciation and yawns.

With all that said, I have started the very preliminary steps of perhaps developing an old series idea I had cooked up a few years ago involving comedy and music. I’m working with Justin Dovidio, owner of Video Creators Lounge, to see if we can bring this series to life in at least pilot form.

 Follow up, Tell us about where we can find your work.

 
Anything I’m doing right now is on YouTube which is mostly my in die game livestreams and comedy sketches. If there’s a forthcoming project of more gravitas I would likely post about it on my website.

You can search in Google or DuckDuckGo for my name, Raj Jawa, that works well to find me if all else fails. I’ve recently started to sell merchandise with a nihilistic slant on my Teespring store.

https://www.rajjawa.com

https://www.rajjawa.live

https://www.youtube.com/c/rajjawa

https://www.twitter.com/rajjawa

https://www.instagram.com/rajjawa

https://www.facebook.com/rajjawa


 

Raj, you have done an assortment of work in film. Which is the funnest project you have been on and with whom?

Every project I’ve been on has generally been pretty fun, I’ve not had an incredibly difficult experience as an actor and have worked with almost entirely nice people. If I had to name one project in particular as a part of my permanent memory it would probably be my work with Motown Maurice on his Late Night Experiment. I primarily acted in the webseries as a heightened version of myself in this semi-fictional narrative about Motown Maurice’s desires and pursuit of a spot among the greats and posers in Late Night Television.

Those years of working with Motown and the other Late Night Disciples (Kevin Cardenas, Julio Hanson, and Mark Sipka) has been some of my most favorite years. My continuing friendship with Motown Maurice since the show wrapped five years ago has been one of the strongest bonds I’ve felt in the industry. Though we currently live on opposite coasts, I participate in and commentate on his bi-monthly Brawlhalla tournament which we livestream.


Raj, what drew you into the entertainment industry?

I was really drawn further into entertainment through my exposure to the industry. I had made comedy home movies with my friends but I’d never seriously considered film or acting until I took film classes at junior college. The more I learned and the more shorts I made, the more I fell in love with the craft of making movies. It was like discovering what I had been born to do and it gave me a sort of guilt to think I could be allowed to enjoy what I do so much.

I love envisioning an idea I’m really fired up about, I see every piece and feel like I know every cut of it in my head before a single frame is even shot.

I can’t really explain further what it is about entertainment that drew me in. Perhaps because I was so shy and reserved I saw film as a way to give a version of me permission to share, either through a personal short film or the freedom to act out as a character. The more I performed, the more I wanted to play more characters, try different things, bring my ideas and, more importantly, myself to the screen.

And more and more, I realize I wanted to build a community. That’s something I have more awareness of now than before. I want to matter and be seen in this harsh and cruel world. I want to be recognized for something or as something, not be just another cog in this life. That’s still my overarching goal because I think building a tight community is my only real chance to be a consistently working actor.


Raj, the lockdown has everyone reading, writing, and watching movies. Can you provide a list of what you have been doing? Meaning I tend to find new books or movies from suggestions given and well seems like I might be stuck for another few months inside.

I try to spend as much time as possible actively creating rather than absorbing content but I still get enthralled by a good movie or TV show. Here’s a few, old and new, that I’ve watched or rewatched recently and some that I just recommend in general.

The Good Place

Pan’s Labyrinth

Collateral

Magnolia

Moon

The Prestige

12 Monkeys

Green Room

Visioneers

Baby Driver

Koyaanisqatsi

Love Liza

Life is Beautiful


In dreaming can you describe what your dream movie, or role or who you would like to work with would be?

I’d love to have a role as a main antagonist, perhaps like a corporate baddie like Jonathan Pryce in Tomorrow Never Dies. I’ve played a lot of roles over the years but most were pretty grounded so I haven’t had the opportunity to be overly challenged as an actor but I would love to try something deeper. I think taking a turn as a sinister villain or misguided rogue would be a fun way to try something out of character.